For decades, it's been an oasis of agricultural land at the intersection of Interstate 64 and the Watterson Expressway. But the family trusts that control Oxmoor Farm may be reviving long-delayed plans to develop what is perhaps the most desirable acreage in Louisville. More >>

For decades, it's been an oasis of agricultural land at the intersection of Interstate 64 and the Watterson Expressway. But the family trusts that control Oxmoor Farm may be reviving long-delayed plans to develop what is perhaps the most desirable acreage in Louisville. More >>

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Kentucky has finalized the process for drivers to appeal tolls they believe are wrongly charged on the RiverLink bridge network.

A legislative panel in Frankfort is scheduled to vote Friday on the rules, which would replace emergency regulations approved by Gov. Matt Bevin in November. Tolls began in late December on the Interstate 65 Lincoln and Kennedy bridges between Louisville and Jeffersonville, Ind., and the Lewis and Clark Bridge some eight miles upriver.

Drivers who want to challenge a toll may have to include a copy of their invoice or account statement when objecting in writing. Protests are limited to cases that include incorrectly read license plates; tolls assessed to license plates that don’t match vehicles; and a vehicle that’s been sold, transferred or stolen.

In some cases, drivers may be asked to show they were improperly billed – by providing a police report if a car was stolen, for example.

If Kapsch chooses to uphold the toll, a driver would have 10 days to pay or ask for an administrative hearing at RiverLink customer service centers at 400 East Main Street in Louisville or 103 Quartermaster Court in Jeffersonville. Fines for delinquent tolls won’t be charged during the appeals process.

The states plan to hire hearing officers by the end of February, said Megan McLain, the Transportation Cabinet’s assistant general counsel.

“As the disputes come in, we want to be able to provide a hearing officer to resolve them further if we can’t do it here at RiverLink,” she said.

McLain said there has been at least one formal challenge to a toll bill, but it hasn’t been resolved.

During the first five weeks of tolling, an increasing share of vehicles using the bridges has had transponders, according to RiverLink data. The all-electronic system has no tollbooths, relying instead on roadside technology to read license plates and scan windshield-mounted transponders.

Donovan Crawford of Jeffersonville said he allowed RiverLink to automatically replenish his account when it ran low. That didn’t happen, he said, and he was locked out of his account. As a result, he said he was charged for three crossings as though he didn’t have an account -- $12 -- instead of $6 under the transponder rate.

Crawford said he’s had difficulty getting RiverLink customer service representatives to straighten out his dilemma.

“I’ve been trying to dispute it ever since I was told I was going to get a bill—maybe stop it before it starts—and they’re not helpful at all,” he said.

RiverLink added a callback feature last month, allowing people to forgo waiting on hold and have customer service representatives to return their calls. McLain said a Kapsch subcontractor in Austin, Texas has added nine additional call center workers and plans to add another 20 by the end of the month.

“We do acknowledge that that is something we can improve on,” she said.

There is enough evidence to suggest state transportation officials “were motivated by discriminatory intent or purpose” when they sought to remove a Louisville company from a minority business program, a federal judge has ruled in allowing the lawsuit to continue.

There is enough evidence to suggest state transportation officials “were motivated by discriminatory intent or purpose” when they sought to remove a Louisville company from a minority business program, a federal judge has ruled in allowing the lawsuit to continue.

The effort is part of a promise Kentucky and Indiana made in 2015 to help offset the burden of bridge tolls on low-income and minority communities by placing transponders in retail outlets such as gas stations.

The effort is part of a promise Kentucky and Indiana made in 2015 to help offset the burden of bridge tolls on low-income and minority communities by placing transponders in retail outlets such as gas stations.